Failure
by kiwibrazilian89
Summary: When Auggie drops a package and a mission fails, Auggie and Annie have a fight which hurts both of them in ways that cannot be easily resolved. How does Auggie's developing relationship with Parker impact his relationship with Annie? Spoilers for 3x02
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - SPOILERS for S3x02. I am loving all the stories that this episode has spurred! This is my take on another direction it could have gone if Auggie and Annie had followed protocol (for once), and gotten on the plane home instead of finding a way to recover the mission. Let me know what you think and if you want this to continue!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it, any of it. This is just for fun.**

* * *

"There's a cab stand up ahead." Annie could not wait to get home from this mission, failure was not something which she planned on making a habit of, and it was not sitting well with her right now.

"I can't believe you're pulling the rip cord." Auggie began the argument, addressing the tension which had been building between them for the past half hour. She had been hoping he would just let it be.

"That was Joan's call, not mine." Annie looked at him in frustration. How could he be blaming her for the way this mission was playing out when he was the one who had dropped the package. His cutting reply came quickly.

"Because_ you_ put it in her head. We don't have the bandwidth?" She had only been being honest with Joan under pressure.

It was the first time they had fought and the anger in Auggie's eyes was tearing her to pieces. He had been attacked, and in the split second that mattered she had chosen to run back to help him instead of chasing the package. Maybe she had made the wrong decision, but she would do it again in a heartbeat. Auggie's eyes pinned her in place.

"Since day one you have been bucking Joan's authority like it is a source of pride and now all of a sudden you salute and fall in lock step." Auggie was not mincing words. Stepping in front of her and stopping her in her tracks, he fully directed his anger in Annie's direction. "It's because of me, isn't it. You think I'm some sort of burden." Wincing, Annie realized why Auggie was so mad. She had unwittingly tread on a very fragile area of his self-esteem and fierce independence. Trying to assuage him, she asserted,

"I do not think that."

"Then why did you come back up the stairs to help me." The real reason? She didn't want to think about it. Those were feelings she was barely willing to admit even to herself. So she went for the simple answer.

"Cus you were down." Running her hand through her hair in distress, her heart sunk as she realized that for a minute she had seen him as vulnerable and reacted on her feelings for him instead of her instincts as an agent. But this man who meant so much to her had needed her. What else could she have done?

"You should have gone for the package. That was our mission. To get the package home, not to help me. I don't wanna go back to the way things were. I don't want to get stuck behind my desk. I wanna move forward with my life, across the board, but I don't have a Lena in my corner. My only champion is Joan. If I disappoint her..." Auggie shook his head as Annie cut in urgently.

"You won't disappoint her, she wants us to follow orders, she wants us to come home."

"Joan wants a win. And so do I." The frustration on Auggie's face was more than evident, but Annie was not about to back down. Not since Auggie had the gall to imply that she had made the wrong decision in going back for him instead of chasing after their package. Her instincts had gotten her this far, and although her split second of indecision had allowed the package to be lost, she refused to regret going back to make sure Auggie was okay.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and seeing that the call was from Lena she took a deep breath, pleading with Auggie to understand.

"Ugh. I have to take this." Stony eyes glared back as Auggie snapped at her.

"Fine." His tone made it quite clear that she could go to hell for all he cared right now, and his attitude hurt her more deeply than she was willing to let him see. Reaching for his hand she tried to calm him, to reconnect with him through the anger and harsh words that currently filled the tense air between them. Unwilling to relent he tossed her hand off him with a look of disgust and walked away, fury emanating from every tight muscle in his body.

After a brief conversation with Lena, Annie looked around to find Auggie sitting on the edge of a fountain nearby, back ramrod straight and jaw firmly set. As an army brat she recognized the highly controlled anger of a veteran soldier. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in through her nose, Annie walked over to him.

"Auggie?" Unseeing eyes were no excuse for the way he kept his head facing firmly in the opposite direction from her voice. With a sigh she sat down next to him, trying to ignore the way he flinched away as their shoulders touched. "Look, Aug, I know how much this means to you. I'm with you if you decide to try to track down Red Rover, I just don't see how it can be done." Bitterly, Auggie's quiet reply left her cold inside.

"No point anymore." Raising her eyes to look into his frustrated ones, she could not help but notice his tightly clenched jaw, veins pulsing every time he swallowed. He wouldn't forgive her for this quickly.

"Auggie, it's only been 10 minutes since we spoke to Joan, we can still figure this out." With a mirthless scoff and a sardonic grin he replied harshly.

"Annie. You see me as a burden to be rescued the minute I trip over or drop my cane. Even if I wanted to salvage this mission, I wouldn't be able to do it with a partner who has such little faith in me. Now if you don't mind, can we skip the rest of the pointless conversation and catch our plane back. I had planned on being in Eritrea by now."

The mention of his planned proposal silenced Annie as she struggled to hide her own tears, instead reaching for his arm as she hailed a taxi to take them back to the airport. Their plane took off without any delays.

Once they were settled in their seats, Annie leaned on the window and refused to give in to the burning sensation behind her eyeballs. She needed her emotions to hibernate until she got home to a large spoon and pot of ice cream. Auggie had never been so guarded around her as he was right now, his whole body stiff and angular. She half expected his jaw to cramp up from the strength with which he was gritting his teeth. Neither of them spoke, making it a very long ride home.

* * *

Although their bodies were touching by necessity as they cleared customs and immigrations, the distance between them had never been more clearly delineated. Annie had been trained to hide and control her emotions in threatening situations, and right now Auggie was definitely a threat to her well-being. His arm was so tense as she directed him through the airport that she was surprised it did not snap off completely. Encountering Joan as they finally re-entered the United States, Annie let go of his arm and came to a complete stop.

"Joan, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Annie, I'm just glad you are both back safe, we will find another way to deal with this threat. You should get yourself home. If you don't mind, I'd like a moment alone with Auggie please." Nodding, Annie shot one last pained glance in Auggie's direction before heading for the exit.

Auggie stood silently. Turning to him and placing a calming hand on his arm, Joan began.

"Auggie, I shouldn't have sent you in, it was an unstable situation, I had faulty intel, this is my faul..."

"Don't even try to give me this speech Joan, I've heard it all before. I failed. I'm never going to be able to get back into the field. I get it. I'm a big boy, you don't need to try to placate me. I'm really tired though, and I need to catch a plane to Eritrea, so if you wouldn't mind directing me to the correct terminal for my flight, it would be much appreciated."

"Auggie. You cannot blame yourself for this. You did the best you could in a difficult situation. These things happen. You know better than anyone that there is no such thing as a 100% success rate."

"I let you down, Joan. There is no excuse for that."

"You followed orders Auggie. I know it isn't something you and Annie do often, but you need to realize that it is how most of this organization functions. I'm just relieved that you both got back in one piece."

"Yep. Okay." With a piercing glance, and realizing that Auggie was not ready to accept anything she said at this time, Joan shelved the topic for a later date. Dropping him off at his departure gate, she had only one more piece of advice for him.

"Don't leave things unresolved with Annie for too long." With a curt nod, Auggie walked through the gate.


	2. Moving Forward

**A/N: Thanks for much for all the reviews and alerts. You guys are great! Only a few days until the next episode and I'm still recovering from the one this week!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Any of it.**

* * *

Annie stood on the sidewalk outside the airport and contemplated hailing a taxi to take her home. But the stress of the past 24 hours was taking its toll, and the idea of trying not to fall apart while Danielle asked a million unintentionally nosy questions was not appealing. Making a fly by pit stop in Munich to see Simon for the night was much more alluring. Not to mention that her favorite way to deal with trauma was to take a ride on the dangerous side. It reminded her that even when her heart was breaking life could still be fun. Biting her lip and grinning mischievously, she turned and walked straight back into the airport, texting Lena to book her on the next flight to Germany. She had been deserted by plenty of men in her life, starting with her father. She wasn't about to wallow over Auggie's impending nuptials. Or at least she assumed there would soon be impending nuptials; Parker couldn't possibly be stupid enough to say no to Auggie's proposal.

How could Auggie be proposing to someone he had only been dating for three months. She had done long distance before; with their jet setting lifestyle it was possible. But it did mean that it took much longer to get to know someone properly. There was no way to build a marriage on a relationship that had not had adequate face time. Auggie was proposing to a girl he didn't truly know yet. Did she like the toilet paper roll to go over or under? Was she a morning person or an evening person? Which country would they live in if they got married? There were so many questions that Auggie could not possibly know the answers to. Was he even thinking straight, or was this just a reaction to Jai's death?

What confused her even more were the mixed signals he had been giving her lately. Staying up all night waiting for her at the hospital when she had potential radiation poisoning. Calling her when she was on missions just to see how she was doing and offering to help to even though it was no longer his job. The way he called out her name so desperately when he went down on those stairs after dropping the package. Giving her his car. There were a hundred different ways he showed her how much he cared every day of the week. But it appeared that all of those things could not overcome the love he felt for Parker.

Not that it was any of her business what he did with his love life. They were co-workers and friends, nothing more. And at this point she wasn't even sure where their friendship stood. They had left so much unresolved upon their re-arrival in the States, and since Joan was there they had not even said goodbye to each other. Judging by the strained trip home though, all was definitely not okay between them.

Freshening up in the frequent flyer lounge while she waited for her plane to board, she called the number Simon had slipped in her bag the last time she saw him.

"Simon, its Annie Walker! I've got some time off and I thought I might drop by, you free?" She could hear a guarded but cheery smile roll into his voice as he replied.

"For you? Anytime. I'm staying at my hotel in Munich, I'll text you the details." Who needed an Auggie when she had someone so delighted to see her just waiting in his hotel room on demand? Then again, she probably should not underestimate this man; he seemed to know exactly how to charm a woman. The accent certainly made him harder to resist. Thankfully, there was no reason for her to resist him; she was supposed to be getting close to him. Sometimes, she really loved her job.

"Alright. I'll see you soon." His reply was filled with his customary European reserve, but rang with a sincerity which she knew from experience was difficult to fake.

"Perfect." With a grin, Annie realized she was more excited than she had expected to be about seeing Simon. He was one of the first people she had met who could understand her highly mobile upbringing, and talking to him about all the places she had visited was a refreshing change from the usual small talk required when building rapport with assets. Not to mention he had proven himself to be a more than adequate kisser. Okay, so he made her knees a little weak, and her head slightly fuzzy. But enjoying his company could only benefit her mission. It would make her cover of a woman with a crush much more convincing if some of the feelings were real. And as she had told Lena, she didn't have a boyfriend who would be upset about her taking things to the next level with an asset.

Even as that thought made its way through her mind, she realized that Auggie would probably be pissed at her if he found out she was sleeping with an asset for information. Like Lena had said, there were definite double standards in the agency. She had been upset when she found out he was sleeping with Liza Hearn, so she could only imagine how he would react if he ever heard about her and Simon. Then again, maybe he would be too wrapped up in Parker induced bliss to notice or care.

* * *

Auggie walked into a wall of heat as he exited the airplane on the small, bumpy landing strip in Eritrea. He was spinning around, trying to get his bearings when suddenly he felt arms wrap around his neck and pull him close and felt soft lips land on his as Parker kissed him. After the initial shock of the sneak attack kiss, he responded, wrapping one arm around the small of her back and tangling his other hand in the hair at the nape of her neck. It felt like coming home. Grinning as he pulled away and put his hands on each of her shoulders, he quipped,

"You know, I hear that sneaking up on blind guys is bad manners." Responding immediately with a girly giggle, Parker smiled at him and retorted,

"Oh, well, in that case, I'll make sure never to greet you with an unexpected kiss again." Laughing, he shook his head.

"That's fine, I don't plan to let go of you ever again anyway. So you won't get a chance to make good on that threat." He could almost hear her raise her eyebrows in defiance as she replied to him.

"Oh, really?" Her voice held a hint of danger, which only made her more attractive.

"Really." Grabbing her hands and falling carefully to one knee he tilted his head up to face his girlfriend. "Parker...I know this is completely unorthodox and probably a little crazy. We haven't been dating very long. I don't know everything about you, and there are things that you don't know about me. But I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know you better." Pulling out the pearl encrusted ring, and voice husky with emotion, he asked the key question. "Will you marry me?" With a gasp, Parker fell to her knees opposite him and pulled his face towards her, pausing an inch away from his mouth to double check,

"Are you serious?" Auggie let out a nervous rumble of a laugh.

"Do I sound like I'm joking?" Really though, how hard was it to give a simple yes or no answer.

"No. You sound dead serious." Correct.

"I am." Nodding, Parker closed the inch between them and kissed him again, gently at first but growing more frantic as they continued until Auggie pulled away.

"So is that a yes then?" He could feel his heart beat speeding up nervously.

"You mean you didn't see me nod?" The little minx. She was definitely going to pay for that later.

"I can practically see you sticking your tongue out at me right now. You should be careful what you do with that tongue, it could get you into trouble." She gave a breathy laugh.

"My answer is yes! Absolutely!" Grinning from ear to ear, Auggie wrapped his arms around Parker's back and held her tightly, breathing easily for the first time since Jai's death. Here, in this moment, he had Parker in his arms, and no one could take this away from him. He knew that at some point he would have to read her in, but he would have a lifetime to make that decision. All that mattered right now was that she loved him enough to throw her lot in with his. In spite of the failure of his mission with Annie, and the possibility of a career stuck behind a desk, Parker made him feel like somehow, his life was going to work out. She was such an idealist, always hoping for the best no matter how bleak a situation looked, and being around her tempered his natural cynicism, giving him a strong dose of optimism in its place. He couldn't wait to tell Annie. Then again, maybe that would have to wait. He had crossed more than a few lines with her in Barcelona, and he knew that the pieces might take some time to pick up and repair. He would talk to her as soon as he arrived back home. But for now, there was only room in his heart, mind, and arms, for Parker.


	3. Personal, or professional?

**A/N Bring on the pitchforks and village mob but I think Simon and Annie have a deeper connection than they have yet shown us. As much as I want Auggie and Annie together, I still think that their relationship is not yet ready to move to the next level...to move from a close friendship to more requires a catalyst on both ends. Not to mention that, as a girl, there is no way I can let Annie sit around feeling sorry for herself while Auggie is all engaged and blissful. Just saying. **

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Yada Yada Yada**

* * *

Raising her hand to knock confidently on Simon's door, Annie took a deep breath and wondered why she her stomach was fluttering, first date style. The door opened and her eyes widened vulnerably, waiting for his response. Simon's face lit up like she was water in a desert, calming her nerves and bringing an uncharacteristically demure smile to her own face. He exuded something so raw and masculine. It made her feel slightly off kilter. Unlike most of the men in D.C. he didn't spend more time in front of the mirror than her, he wasn't perfectly clean shaven, and although his clothes were expensive, they hung off him in a slightly devil-may-care fashion.

Not a word was exchanged as he held the door open for her and she walked in, smiling suggestively as she looked at him over her shoulder. His eyes tracked her body as she walked into his living room and it took him a few seconds to regain the ability to speak. When he did, his heavily British influenced accent was seductively husky and understated.

"Would you like a drink?" She bit her lip innocently and nodded.

"A drink would be great." He had no idea how great. After the past 24 hours she wanted nothing more than to be very, very comfortably drunk. His smile widened in response.

"Any preference?"

"Surprise me." Laughing quietly he got up and started mixing her a cocktail at the bar on the side of the room.

"So what brings you to Munich? I assume you're travelling on the Smithsonian's budget, unless the salary for working at a museum has significantly increased since the last time I heard."

"I may have conveniently started negotiations for a particularly special piece of artwork owned by a millionaire in the area." With a quizzical raise of the eyebrows, Simon handed her the drink in his hand, sat next to her on the couch and queried,

"Is that so? Who might that be?" Gazing up at him from beneath her smoky blue shadowed eyes, she demurred,

"Oh, a lady never tells." His eyes darkened slightly before he raised his bottle of beer and made a toasting motion.

"True in life, and in art." With a wink and a teasing sparkle to her eyes, Annie replied,

"You know it." Annie caught her breath as turned his body towards her and draped his arm casually across the couch behind her. Taking her unfinished drink out of her hand and placing it on the table, he placed his other hand on her outside arm and turned her gently to face him. Feigning anger, Annie spoke in an accusatory tone, giving herself away only by the slight upward curve at the corner of her mouth.

"Hey I wasn't finished drinking that!" Simon just laughed at her and ran his hand up from her arm to the back of her neck. Looking up at him Annie could not help but notice the deep warmth in his eyes. They were the kind of eyes that made her want to spill her life story and tell him about her day, the kind of eyes that would understand her at her most vulnerable. They spoke of mutual experiences growing up which would always tie them together. But there was something else there too, something more guarded and dangerous. This was no choir boy, he knew exactly what he was doing, and he probably knew more about her than he was letting on. People didn't end up on the CIA's most wanted list by accident. Lips an inch away from her ear, he whispered,

"I think you were quite done with that drink." Turning her head towards his voice, she found her lips captured by his, relegating the analytical side of her mind firmly to the corner.

* * *

Hours later, Annie awoke to the insistent sound of her phone buzzing. Reaching over to check the caller ID, she pressed reject as soon as her foggy mind registered Auggie's number. She had no desire to face the continuation of her argument with him right now. Stretching out, she heard someone knocking at the door. The other side of the bed was already empty, and as soon as she heard Simon answer it she tiptoed to listen through the bedroom door. Through the crack she could make out an aristocratic and glamorous looking Bulgarian woman, leaning close and speaking in a quietly cultured voice. An irrational streak of jealousy shot through Annie as she watched. Who was she?

"There's a leak. Sofia was followed home last night. She lost them, but someone is on to us."

"Okay. Are our interests in the Middle East secured?"

"All except the one in Syria. Things there are so unstable at the moment that we haven't been able to contact our eyes on the ground for some time." Simon's voice became agitated.

"You mean to tell me that we have no idea as to the whereabouts of my daughter and nobody thought to inform me? You were supposed to be keeping her locked up for her own safety." He had a daughter...locked up? Annie felt like she had been kicked in the gut.

"I told you we should have killed her when she defected. If it was anyone else she would have been in a convenient accident already. Just because you are funding this operation, does not mean that anyone will allow your family to jeopardize us. You KNOW how much is riding on this." Simon's voice became menacing, and for the first time Annie realized just how dangerous he could be.

"I entrusted you. With keeping my daughter safe. You have 24 hours to fix this or you will learn why I truly do hold the reins in this organization. Now get out." By the end of the sentence he was practically growling.

The door slammed, and Annie pretended to just be waking up as Simon came back into the room quietly. He smiled at her, all traces of his previous anger gone without a trace.

"Morning Annie, I trust you slept well." Groaning but still managing to smile at him convincingly, Annie ran her fingers through her hair.

"A little too well I think, my flight leaves in an hour." His face fell as she dressed quickly, pulling her hair back in a ponytail and doing a quick check to ensure her shirt was not on inside out.

"No chance you can stay for breakfast then?" Laughing as she slipped on her shoes and breezed past him towards his front door, she shook her head. A manicured hand on the arm and a brief kiss was her favorite exit strategy, and she knew that she needed to be completely on guard against Simon after hearing about the way he was treating his daughter. But he took the power out of her hands when he slipped his powerfully muscled arm around her waist and deepened the kiss. By the time he let her breathe again she was dizzy and her cheeks were flushed. She turned to leave, calling out over her shoulder just before closing the door,

"Next time?" Simon nodded back at her with a grin.

"I like the sound of that." He closed the door firmly behind her, and it took a number of deep breaths to collect herself before she walked down to catch her flight.


	4. Pirates

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of it.**

* * *

Back at Langley, Annie received a phone call from an unrecognized number.

"Hello?" Silence. Then a click as the person on the other end of the line hung up.

Putting in a call to tech ops to trace the call produced a baffling result. The phone was registered to Parker. But why would Auggie's girlfriend be calling her? It was problematic for a few reasons, starting with the part where there should be no reason for Parker to have her number. When the GSM showed up off the northern coast of Sudan warning bells began to peal loudly in her head. It didn't help that a brief check in with the Peace Corp informed them that a very different plan had been submitted before they left. Or that the profile of the two people who had joined them on the sailing trip presented with a number of dangerous looking familial connections.

Which was why she was now following Lena around like an overly attached puppy, trying to convince her to stop and chat long enough to alert her to her concerns. The woman never seemed to stay in one spot for longer than a few seconds.

"Can I run something by you? Off topic?" Lena looked at her briefly, then walked towards the photocopier.

"I had really hoped you would still be in Munich." Smiling slightly at the thought of her time with Simon, Annie brought the focus back to Auggie. Her best friend. Who she was furious with, but who appeared to need her help.

"Munich is under control. But I got a call 45 minutes ago from Auggie Anderson's girlfriend Parker, she's in the peace corp in Eritrea. Auggie headed over a couple of days ago to spend some vacation time with her."

"Eritrea. A man after my own heart. They produce really good coffee." Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Annie continued with her speel. Seriously, sometimes Lena seemed to have no sense of urgency or responsibility.

"Okay. The call was a hang up. I contacted the peace corp and they said that Auggie and Parker had gone sailing. But the GSM showed up in northern Sudan, nowhere near their submitted route. And the two people who went with them showed up with a number of sketchy connections. I'm worried." She finally had Lena's attention.

"Auggie is a good friend of yours?" Nodding emphatically, Annie simply replied,

"Yes." Lena winced briefly.

"Well, we'd better make some calls."

"Thank you."

* * *

Huddled together in a pirate ship in the waters off the coast of Northern Sudan, Auggie held Parker's face between his hands and tried to calm down his normally adventurous girlfriend.

"Parker. I'm with the CIA, and I am going to keep you safe." Wrong move Auggie. Wrong move. Instead of calming her, his statement sent her into hysterics. Jerking her face away from him, and replying in a tone that was somewhere between a whisper and a scream, she demanded,

"You're WHAT?" Well. At least she wasn't sounding scared anymore. Forget death at the hands of pirates, he was about to be killed by his furious girlfriend.

"I work for the CIA. I was trained as a special forces agent. I was on an undercover mission when an IED made me blind. But I need you to believe me when I say that I will keep you safe."

"Hold up and rewind. An IED 'accident?' You son of a bitch, you're talking about the so called 'accident' that killed my brother. Are you telling me that my brother was a CIA agent?" There was so much barely controlled anger in her voice that Auggie barely knew how to respond. He chose to tell the truth.

"Yes. Your brother and I were special forces agents together. I was there when he died. I did everything I could to save him but..."

"So you've been lying to me, our whole relationship. About something as important as knowing the real details about my brothers death?"

"Parker, I wanted to tell you, but I needed to wait until the time was right." She replied bitingly,

"No, I don't think you were planning to tell me at all, you just got your hand forced by pirates." Auggie closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, before replying in a tone full of sincerity.

"I came to Eritrea to tell you the truth."

"And why would I believe a single word you say?"

"Right now, all I need you to believe, is that I can and will keep you safe. That number I told you to dial on your phone and hang up, belongs to one of my coworkers and she will recognize it as a distress call. Right now she is making calls to key people to get an extraction team sent out." He sounded more sure than he was. He and Annie were not on good terms at the moment, and he doubted that a call from his girlfriend would help matters at all. He had never before realized just how terrible a feeling it could be to leave a fight unresolved. Both of them had said things that were unforgivable, and thrown accusations at each other that hurt deeply. Right now he could only trust in Annie's analytical skills and professional instincts to place his safety over her personal feelings towards him.

Reaching out his hand to place it on the side of Parker's arm, he could feel her shaking.

"I am going to work with you for now only because I cannot get out of this situation alone. But once we get out of here, you and I are done." Her voice was low and as he reached up to touch her face, her cheeks were wet with tears. In a tone of desperation he made an attempt to change her mind.

"Parker, please don't make this decision right now. We are both in a highly stressful situation, can we just table the discussion until we are both safe and thinking clearly." She shook her head and sniffed, reaching up to pull his hand off her face.

"I am thinking perfectly clearly. I refuse to date a pathological liar. I don't even know who you really are. For all I know you could just be getting close to me to get details about something shady my brother was involved in while working for the CIA. I don't know what you want from me, but I can't ever trust you again." Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Auggie nodded.

"I understand." The problem was that he really did understand. It was a lot for anyone to deal with, but Parker was a strong and independent woman who deserved someone who treated her like a princess. He would have been furious if he found out someone he loved had been lying to him throughout their relationship.

He forced himself to focus on the task at hand. They had to find some way to escape from this situation.


	5. The Truth Hurts

Annie stood frozen at the entrance to Auggie's old office, staring into the dark room at his empty desk, dust gathering on the glass surface where his coffee cup used to sit. The negotiations for Auggie's release were going badly, and she could no longer handle the tension of standing around doing nothing while Joan and Lena snapped at each other. She had to believe he would find a way to escape. They had sent in the extraction team 15 minutes ago, but unless Auggie found his own way out, they wouldn't be able to do anything.

A sudden ringing from the phone on Auggie's desk snapped her out of her reverie. No-one would be calling that number anymore, except...Auggie. Quickly picking it up she answered,

"Hello?" She forgot to breathe while waiting for a reply.

"Annie. It's Auggie." Closing her eyes and exhaling in relief she felt an irresistible urge to laugh. Regardless of all the confusion and anger between her and Auggie at the moment, his voice was the most comforting sound in the world. A wide grin split her face.

"I've never been so happy to hear your voice. You can't even imagine..." Her whole body felt like jello, muscles shaking from the release of the tension that had kept her on her feet thus far.

"I think I can. Listen, we're going to need a helicopter, think you can send one out." He was going to be okay. She would get a chance to make things right with him.

"It'll be there in 20, already gave the extraction team the green light."

"Okay, thanks." Click.

* * *

24 hours later Annie was lying on the makeshift bed in the corner of the office when she heard the sound of Auggie's voice,

"I'm looking for Annie Walker." Her co-workers directed his body in her direction as she jumped to her feet and almost ran towards him to give him a massive hug.

"You're here. You're okay." To her surprise she found her eyes welling up with tears. Auggie seemed to have noticed the distress in her voice as he tightened his arms around her.

"I'll always find a way to get back to you Annie. Can't afford to have my best friend mad at me." Releasing him from the hug and holding him at arms distance Annie sighed as she remembered the terms they had left things on. She didn't want to push him into talking before he was ready, but the tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife. Mercifully she was saved from having to force the issue when he asked tentatively,

"Is now a good time to talk?" Tapping his hand gently with the back of hers so he could grab her arm she responded,

"Yeah. Let's get some coffee."

"You really do know the way to a man's heart Annie Walker." His words, although spoken jokingly, opened up a gaping wound in her which had not had a chance to heal. How could he be so completely oblivious to her feelings for him?

* * *

They waited in line for their coffee in silence, the chasm between them gaping widely now that it had been acknowledged. Once they were finally seated across from each other at a table, Auggie jumped straight in, his voice casual, as if he were merely reading the weather report.

"I read Parker in when we were captured. She was so angry she broke up with me. But after everything I couldn't leave it at that so we talked for hours on the ride home and when I proposed just before we landed, she said yes." Annie took a deep breath in through her nose as her heart shattered, then exhaled slowly before replying dully,

"You're engaged." Somehow Auggie missed the depressed tone of her voice, simply answering,

"Yes." The tears which had been building all day finally spilled over and for once she was glad Auggie was blind and could not see her. After everything, she had not thought he would honestly go through with the proposal. She managed to control her voice enough to insert a tone of happiness into it as she responded,

"Congratulations!" Her napkin was coming in very handy as tears continued streaming down her face.

"Thanks Annie. Hey, about what happened in Barcelona..." He trailed off, seemingly unsure how to continue the conversation. Jumping in, Annie tried to smooth things over. She just wanted everything to go back to normal between them, for their easy camaraderie to become accessible again. She would force herself to get over him. She had to. If all she could ever have with him was friendship, then that was what she needed to repair and protect.

"I was being over-protective. I'm sorry." To be fair, she had only been following protocol. He was the one making unreasonable demands for her to jump into a dangerous situation with him without considering the consequences. After a moment of tense silence, Auggie replied with a sigh.

"No, it was my fault. I was in denial about my own limitations, I didn't want to admit them. I didn't want to fail. But Annie I still can't believe that you didn't trust me enough to give me a vote of confidence on the phone with Joan. That really hurt." Finally, the core of the issue. She had made him feel like she did not believe in him, like she saw him as weak.

"Auggie. I think you are one of the strongest people I know. I trust you with my life on a regular basis. But I was only telling Joan the truth. It wasn't fair of you to demand that I put my own career in jeopardy because of your pride and need to prove yourself." Auggie replied in a progressively embittered and angry tone.

"We failed Annie. I failed. And you didn't give me a chance to fix the situation. It's because I'm blind isn't it? If you were on a mission with anyone else, you would have had no qualms about breaking protocol to track down Red Rover. Do you even understand what this failure is going to mean to my career? I'll be stuck behind a desk permanently from now on. I'll be seen as a liability in the field. Because of the failure of that mission. Can you at least understand why I'm finding it so hard to be around you right now? You are reminding me of everything that I have lost." His words hit her like a kick to the stomach, winding her, making her want to curl up in fetal position and cradle herself. Why was she so in love with this man who was tearing her apart with his words as if her feelings did not matter to him at all.

"I wasn't the one who dropped the package, Auggie. You can't blame me for this. It was a two person mission. And do you not realize I have to face the repercussions of the mission failure as well? You are being unbelievably selfish." He raised his eyebrows incredulously and his whole body tensed up defensively as he stood up, bracing himself with palms flat on the table between them.

"Annie. If you hadn't put it in Joan's head that we were too ill-equipped to track down Red Rover on our own, things could have been different." Refusing to allow him to talk down to her, she also stood up, walking around the table until their bodies were only inches apart, torso's facing each other. She spoke quietly, her voice deathly calm and betraying no trace of emotion. He didn't deserve her vulnerability.

"I'm not going to play this blame game Auggie. You're being childish. I am sorry that your career won't be what you want it to be. But honestly, maybe there is a reason for that. Maybe it is safer to have you doing desk work. I get that you are upset, but you have to take responsibility for your own emotions about it. I'm not going to sit here and listen to you accuse me of anything more. Congratulations on your engagement. I'm heading to Paris to see someone."

Auggie narrowed his eyes, about to make a retort, but Annie she was gone before he had a chance. Her heels clicked their way out of the Langley cafeteria and he was left frustrated, angry, and confused. How was it that she managed to get under his skin so much. Perhaps it was the fact that the words she spoke to him held more truth than he wanted to admit to himself. Regardless, he did not owe her anything, he did not need her, and he would be fine without her in his life. She could deal with his absence until she was ready to apologize for the words she had spoken. Words which were quite clearly chosen to wound him.


	6. Heartbreak

**A/N: Tonight's episode nearly gave me heart palpitations.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Covert Affairs**

* * *

A few nights later, Auggie arrived home late to find Parker up waiting for him.

"Parker?" There was no reason for her to still be awake; in fact she was usually an early sleeper.

"Hi Auggie." Her shaky voice held unshed tears.

"What's wrong?" Walking towards her he bumped into something out of place. "Is this a suitcase? Parker. What's going on?"

"Auggie, I can't marry you." That was all it took for his world to come crashing down around him. He rushed towards her, putting his hands on the side of her face and turning her to face him. Tears rushed to his eyes as he gasped for air. In a low, tortured tone he asked,

"Is this about the CIA thing? We can get past it, we'll work it out." She shook her head no and replied as her tears spilled over.

"No, Auggie we just fell for each other so quickly. We were both upset because of what happened to my brother and we connected through it but ever since he died I've been floating without an anchor. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't even really know who I am right now." Desperately, Auggie tried to get through to the woman he cared so deeply about.

"We love each other, right? Right?" He felt her nod, rather than her barely audible reply. "And getting to know each other, that's what we're doing now?"

"We rushed into this. I'm not ready to be engaged. I'm just trying to figure out my life and I had you on this pedestal, like you were the one thing that would help me feel in control of my life again. But I had to realize that no one can do that for me, I have to figure it out for myself." Auggie felt like he had been kicked in the gut. The floor felt unsteady, like it was tilting or evaporating with every word Parker spoke. "Auggie, I can't be in a relationship right now. I can't do this, I'm sorry." Wrapping his arms around her tightly, Auggie pulled her close and spoke as he tried to maintain his thin grip on sanity.

"No, Parker, please, don't leave. Not tonight. At least wait until morning. Things always look better in the morning."

"I can't. If you really love me, you'll let you me go. I need to figure things out and I can't do it within a relationship."

"Parker, please..." Pushing firmly against his chest, she peeled her body away from his and headed briskly for the door, not giving him a chance to follow.

"Goodbye Auggie." The door slammed behind her as Auggie sank to the floor and pulled his knees to his chest. Silent sobs wracked his body as every muscle went taut, the pain too much to bear. He wanted to scream but his gasping breaths were not providing enough oxygen. Grasping his phone he dialed Annie's number, clinging to that one last hope that the world had not completely imploded. He needed something to hold onto. The call went straight through to voicemail. Trying to conceal how distraught he was, he left a carefully casual message for her.

"Annie, I don't know if you're back from Paris yet, but I'm heading to Allen's Tavern if you want to join. And yes, I know you're still mad at me. But drinks will fix almost anything, right? I'm paying. Meet me there?"

He made one more call to his car service before cracking open his first beer of the night.

* * *

Annie was still in Paris, curled up next to Simon, tracing the pattern of the tattoo on his back.

"It's the constellation Ursa Minor. But...the orientation is slightly off." Simon grinned.

"Nobody's ever guessed my tattoo correctly." Annie responded with a smirk,

"Astronomy's something I got into as a kid. You?" Raising his eyebrows in admiration, Simon replied.

"Actually, it was inspired by the Keats poem, "Bright Star." Against her own wishes, Annie found herself impressed by this man she was supposed to see only as an asset. She loved Keats.

"Would I were steadfast as thou art." She felt him nod as he turned to grin at her approvingly.

"That's the one."

"So who was the bright star in your life?" She had a few ideas. His daughter, for one. He just laughed in reply.

"That's a story for another day. I'm absolutely famished though, shower then breakfast?"

"Sure."

"Do you want the first shower?"

"Nah, you go for it." He got up and went into the bathroom, giving her a chance to look through his things. Finding his wallet in the pants he had been wearing the day before, she quickly jotted down his credit card numbers and sent them to the agency to be traced. A passport sized photo of Simon and a young girl of about 8 or 9 jammed into the lining caught her eye. She snapped a photo of it and sent it through as well before putting everything back in place. She failed to notice that she dropped the photo to the floor in the process.

Simon, however, noticed it as soon as he got out of the shower a few minutes later. "What's that photo doing on the floor?" His voice was menacing, body tense and taut. Feigning innocence, Annie fluttered her eyelashes at him.

"Hmm? What photo?" He pointed towards the ground.

"The one right there of me with my daughter. From my wallet. Which was in my pants pocket. I know for a fact that the pockets in those pants don't have any holes. So the question is: Why were you going through my stuff?" Thinking quickly, Annie frantically tried to weasel her way out of this situation. Turning his words against him, she went for the betrayed girlfriend angle.

"You have a daughter? Were you planning on telling me that at any point?" His gaze remained even as he stared back at her.

"I just told you. I'm only going to ask one more time. Why were you going through my stuff?" Since he wasn't going to be distracted she reverted to feigning indignance.

"Excuse me? I can't believe you just...You know what, I think it's time for me to go." Muscles relaxing slightly as his eyes softened, Simon put his hand on her arm to stop her from leaving and turned her to face him. He seemed to have decided to believe her. Speaking gently, he explained,

"No, Annie, wait. Look, I'm sorry; I've been burned in the past by women who were only after me for my money. I jumped to conclusions. Forgive me?" Tossing his hand off her arm and staring up at him defiantely, she retorted.

"I don't want to date someone who doesn't trust me. Or for that matter someone who appears to have a whole other family they conveniently neglected to mention to me." Turning, she headed briskly for the door, grabbing her shoes and handbag on the way out and slamming the door behind her. Half of her hoped that Simon would follow after her and beg her to come back. The other half knew that he was far too proud and that she had probably just burned her bridges with him. What concerned her most though, was the hollow feeling in her chest that felt suspiciously like heartbreak. He was nothing more than an asset. She had said what she needed to in order to get information out of him. So why did this fight feel so real? Was it possible to be in love with two men at once? Because it felt like she had just had her heart stomped on twice in one week.


End file.
